nif hodgson is a visual artist who explores the ephemeral and subjective space where place and perception meet. She uses the tactile, mutable and ‘chance’ qualities of different mediums to explore research on science and the senses, and to consider the complexities in the simple act of looking and how we make sense of the world. As individuals observe, layer and overlook countless details to compose unique and momentary landscapes, she asks how much our experiences shape our ‘sense of place,’ and to what degree our surroundings influence these encounters. Having recently moved from the year-round blinding daylight of Los Angeles to the seasonal light-allotments of northern Washington, her recent work looks at the transforming natures of light and time, and their ability to reveal, suggest, and change what and how we see.
Each series is an ongoing investigation into the different ways we experience space, and how that is continually in flux, inexact, and subject to new perspective. Her artist books and collaborations are published under the imprint ‘subtext press,’ and explore how we perceive space, duration, what may be overlooked, and what doesn’t need to be said.
BIO
Born in Washington, D.C. and currently living in Washington state, nif has lived more than a dozen places in between. She received an MFA, with honors, from San Francisco State University, and is the recipient of awards, including The Bryan Robertson Trust Award (UK) and the Murphy, Cadogan, & Phelan Fellowship (CA). nif has been an artist-in-residence at PLAYA Art & Science Residency in Oregon (2020) and Kala Art Institute in Berkeley, CA (2000-2015). Her work is in public and private collections, and has been exhibited nationally and internationally. She taught letterpress and book arts in the San Francisco bay area, and was a master letterpress printer for Kala artist commissions. She has participated in international artist book fairs, often with collaborator billy ocallaghan, like Printed Matter’s NY Art Book (2015), CODEX Art Book Fair & Symposium (2015-2019, 2024), and the Tokyo Art Book Fair (2016, 2017).
